Building construction



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United States Patent 3,292,329 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Miklos Garancsy,3072 Livingstone Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44120 Filed Mar. 21, 1963, Ser.No. 266,949 8 Claims. (Cl. 52-251) This invention relates to buildingconstruction, and, more particularly, to improved blocks, beams,elements, and pads of concrete for facilitating, strengthening andimproving such construction.

Heretofore it has been known that conventional precast concrete blockshave been utilized in building construction, with these blocks beingformed in rectangular shape and mortared together with cement orconcrete to form the construction. Construction in this manner requiresconsiderable skill in masonry, is time consuming and is not attractive,and is readily recognized for what it is, namely, a mediocre structure.Further, the strength in this structure is not great, as only the mortarbetween blocks is used to hold the construction together. Also, therehave been efiorts to make construction blocks which dovetail together,or utilize rod means to hold the blocks together, but these means haveproved to be extremely expensive, and difficult to use.

It is the general object of the invention to avoid and overcome theforegoing and other difliculties of and objections to prior artpractices by the provision of precast building blocks and elementsadapted to be utilized for building construction, which blocks can bereadily and easily assembled by an ordinary workman, and which includebolt and wedge means rather than mortar to permanently aifix adjacentelements and blocks in vertical and horizontal relation to each other sothat the construction has great stability, strength, and rigidity.

' Another object of the invention is the provision of a weathertight,strong concrete block building which can be assembled without mortar andto many shapes.

Another object of the invention is to provide precast concrete elementsadapted for a wide variety of building constructions wherein theelements take different forms which can all be securely attached to eachother to provide an excellent appearance and so that an entire buildingstructure can be completed utilizing the elements of the invention.

Another object of the invention is to provide precast blocks adaptablefor building construction, which blocks can be quickly assembled to anydesired building configuration, which blocks are comparable in cost toconventional concrete blocks, and which blocks require less labor coststo effect construction therewith so that the overall cost of buildingconstruction is substantially reduced.

Another object of the invention is to provide building constructionblocks which will achieve a superior construction in strength anddurability, which can be easily assembled, and which can be precast forcosts comparable with conventional building blocks.

Another object of the invention is to provide precast module typebuilding blocks which in the wall-forming blocks usually have athickness such as a conventional building block, but greater height andlength or which can be formed in shapes much larger or smaller thanconventional building blocks, as the construction situation demands.

Another object of the invention is to provide precast concrete elementswhich when assembled into a building form substantially finished insideand outside walls which may be further finished only if desired.

The aforesaid objects of the invention, and other objects which willbecome apparent as the description proceeds, are achieved by providingin a building construc- 3,292,329 Patented Dec. 20, 1966 tion thecombination of a plurality of precast blocks of rectangular shape, eachblock having a plurality of bores through the vertical height thereofwith the bores being equally spaced along the longitudinal center lineof the blocks, each bore having a slightly tapered square recess on oneend thereof, a slightly tapered square hole of less cross sectional areathan the recess extending from the recess towards the other end of thebore, a sharply tapered conical shaped recess formed at the end of thesquare hole opposite the square recess, and a circular hole extendingfrom the bottom of the conically shaped recess to the other end of thebore to thereby complete the bore, said bores being arranged alternatelyso that one bore has the square recess upwardly and the next bore hasthe circular hole upwardly, each vertically adjacent block beinglaterally offset but having at least certain of the bores thereinaligned so that a square recess on the upward side of the lower block isaligned with a square recess on the downward side of the upper block,and conversely each circular hole on the upward side of the lower blockis aligned with each corresponding circular hole on the downward side ofthe upper block, nut means fitting into the conically tapered section ofeach bore, bolt means connecting the nut means in each verticallyadjacent and aligned pair of circular holes to hold the blocks invertical stability, and wedge means fitting into each vertically alignedpair of adjacent square recesses to hold the blocks in lateralstability.

Throughout the remainder of the specification and claims the term blockis intended to cover any precast concrete element of the presentinvention whether in the form of a pad or footer, a wall forming block,a beam, or a floor element. However, sometimes for the sake of greaterclarity an adjective may be used with block.

For a better understanding of the invention reference should be had tothe accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded perspective view of the footer blocks utilizedas a foundation in the block construction of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is partially vertically sectioned, exploded and enlargedfragmentary perspective View of the wall forming block constructionutilized in the invention;

FIGURE 3 is a partially vertically sectional, fragmentary, perspectiveview of a wall construction utilizing the footer blocks of FIGURE 1, andthe wall-forming blocks of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical crosssectional,perspective view showing the bolt means utilized to hold thewall-forming blocks together for vertical stability in construction;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical crosssectional,perspective view similar to FIGURE 4 but showing the bolt and wedgemeans holding the footer blocks together as well as the bolt meansholding the wall-forming blocks to the footer blocks;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged, exploded, perspective View, of the bolt and nutmeans of FIGURES 4 and 5;

FIGURE 7 is a partially vertically sectional, fragmentary, perspectiveview of an upper wall section showing floor girder blocks and flooringblocks on top of the girder blocks;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical crosssectional,perspective view of the bolt means used to hold the flooring blocks tothe girder blocks as shown in FIG- URE 7; and

FIGURE 9 is a vertical cross sectional view of the footer blocks takenon the line 9-9 of FIGURE 1.

Although the principles of the invention are broadly applicable to blockforms and shapes as shown and adaptable for any specific type ofconstruction, the invention is usually employed in the form of wallforming blocks having a thickness of one module or eight inches,

a height of a plurality of modules, usually two modules or sixteeninches, and a plurality of desired module lengths, for example, anymultiple of eight inches. The footer blocks will typically beone-halfmodule or four inches thick, and in module rectangles or preferablysquares, for example, three by three modules, and five by five modules.-

With specific reference to the form of the invention illustrated in thedrawings, and particularly with reference to FIGURE 3, the inventioncontemplates the use of a plurality of wall-forming blocks, indicatedgenerally by letter W, which blocks are generally made from preformedconcrete in a manner similar to the formation of conventional concreteblocks. The invention contemplates that the blocks W be generallyrectangular in shape having uniform widths and heights, such aspreviously stated, but varying in module length to facilitateconstruction therewith. The blocks W rest on small footer blocksindicated generally by the letter F3, resting on larger footer blocks,indicated generally by the letter F5. The block F3 is three modulessquare and the block F5 is five modules square,

The term module as herein employed is intended to cover a dimensiontaken up by one bore or hole H, as hereinafter described and istypically eight inches.

One of the features of the utility of the invention relates to thewedging and bolt means used to hold the various blocks together. Thebolting and wedging action is dependent on the bores or holes, indicatedgenerally by letter H, as shown in various views but most clearly seen,in FIGURE 2. Each hole H with the necessary material around it forms amodule unit dimension of eight inches square in one best known form ofthe invention.

With reference to FIGURE 2, it should be noted that each hole H ismolded square in cross section at T and slightly tapered longitudinallyfor ease in drawing core patterns. The larger end of hole H contains asquare recessed portion R also formed longitudinally with a slighttaper. The bore portion T terminates in a conically beveled shoulder C,terminating in a small circular hole D. The holes H are equally spaced,also at the module unit distance, and are alternately arranged as toupper ends, all on the longitudinal center lines of the blocks W asparticularly shown in FIGURE 2. Therefore, the openings from each hole Hare arranged to have a recessed portion R followed by a small circularhole D, followed by another recessed portion R, etc., all asparticularly evident from FIGURE 2.

The wall-forming blocks W are designed to be placed in overlappingrelation one on top of the other so that for vertically spaced coursesof the blocks the circular holes D of one course are aligned with theholes D of an adjacent course. Similarly, recesses R are aligned. Thus,an aligned and adjacent pair of circular holes D appear as shown inFIGURE 4. With reference to FIG- URE 4, conically shaped nuts S havingslightly tapered cylindrical shanks are wedged into position so thatthey fit securely with one shoulder abutting on, the conical shoulder Cand the extended shank portion wedging into the circular holes D. Asquare headed bolt B is screwed into position as shown in FIGURE 4 tosecurely hold the adjacent aligned blocks W together. The inventioncontemplates that the circular holes D as well as the nut shanks beslightly tapered to assist core pattern draw and the wedging action ofthe nuts S in order to hold the nuts S in position against slippingwhile the bolt B is being screwed tightly into place. Further the nutshanks can be formed with one or more ribs (not, shown) to additionallyhold the nuts against turning.

In order to insure a weather proofed wall a strip or strips of tar orWeather proofing WP may be positioned between the aligned horizontaledges of the blocks W as shown in FIGURE 4, and vertical slots, as bestseen in FIGURES 3 and 7, are provided at the end 'of each 4 block whichmay be filled with tar or other suitable weather proofing material.

The application of the bolts'B and nutsS in relation to the footers F isbest seen in FIGURE 5. Note that the bores H through the footer blocksdo not contain an elongated square section T, as is contained in thewallforming blocks W, since the height or thickness of the footer blocksis much smaller, being typically four inches.

In order to further assist in strengthening the construction of thebuilding, and particularly to maintain all parts in lateral stability, akey or wedge G is provided to fit into at least certain or all of theadjacent aligned square recesses R of the bores H, all as clearly shownin various figures and specifically FIGURE 5. In the preferredembodiment of the invention, the square recesses R are slightly tapered,as aforesaid, so that the wedges G, also slightly tapered, are securelywedged. into place providing the proper lateral stability andstrengthening features desired. An enlarged wedge .G exploded from thesquare recess R is shown in FIGURE. 2. A plurality of wedges G are shownin position, in FIGURE 3, ready to receive the square recess R of ablock W to be placed on top in the next course of blocks. The wedges Galso function during construction to align nuts S whereby installationof bolts B is facilitated.

FIGURE 7 shows how the invention provides, if required in a givenbuilding, rigid beam blocks RB having strengtheningrods I therein. Thebeam blocks are built into the block wall to form floor beams typicallytwo modules high, one module thick and any multiple long. Floor blocksRD, typically one half module or four inches thick, are mounted on thebeam blocks RB: using similar bolt means as described heretofore.However, in this modification the nut Sa, as shown inFIG- URE 8, ismolded into or formed as a part of the beam blocks RB, and the RB, andthe bolts Ba have rounded heads and fit into round bores through the.floor D, all as clearly shown in FIGURE 8. Also, it should be noted inthis modification that the ends of each beam block RB has the standardbore H so that it can be attached to the wall blocks W by bolts andwedges as. explained heretofore.

The invention contemplates that the various blocks becast or formed inconventional manner and have surfaces similar to conventional concreteblocks. However, the blocks can be made to have any desired artisticouter or inner surface to form a wall construction with the surfaces asdesired. Further, the blocks are usually formed of a size that canreadily be handled so that construction is facilitated. As becomesobvious from the description heretofore, it is not necessary to employhighly skilled labor for building construction utilizing the blocks ofthe invention, as no mortar is necessary and therefore the constructionis very simple and ex--. pedient. The finished building does not havethe appearance of a conventional concrete block building, has no mortarjoints and is much stronger.

The method of assembly of the blocks of theiinvenw tion should beapparent from the foregoing description. Suffice it to say here thatafter the foundation has been dug suitable footer blocks are selected ofa size to adequately carry the weight of the building. The F5 footerblocks are selected and nuts S are tamped into marked holes from thebottom. The F5 blocks are then positioned. Wedges G are now positionedin the F5 blocks and the F3 blocks also provided with bottom nuts S areplaced on the F5 blocks and bolted in place. Next the selected wallblocks W are provided with nuts S in holes C and after placing wedges 'Gin the squares R of the F3 blocks the wall blocks are bolted to the F3footer blocks. Now the walls are readily built up by a continuation ofthe same procedure with weather stripping between the courses andbetween the ends of the blocks with any window or door openings beingprovided as well as any floors and to the shape and contour desired.

Although the Wedges G have been described as being made from concreteand the bolts B and nuts S have been described as being made from metal,the invention preferably makes these parts from a high strength plasticto enhance the corrosion resistant properties of the structure.

It will be recognized that the objects of the invention have beenachieved by providing unique blocks adapted for building constructionwhereby the blocks can be easily secured in the vertical and horizontaldirections to give a much sturdier and more effective wall construction,and wherein an entire building from foundation to roof can beconstructed utilizing the principles of the invention. Further, thishigh strength construction of pleasing appearance can be made byrelatively unskilled labor in a very short period of time.

While in accordance with the patent statutes one best known embodimentof the invention has been illustrated and described in detail, it is tobe particularly understood that the invention is not limited thereto orthereby, but that the inventive scope is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a concrete block building construction the combination of wallsformed from a plurality of rectangular wall-building blocks, afoundation formed of a plurality of footer blocks and adapted to receivethe bottom wall blocks, short, vertically extending bolt means securelyholding the bottom wall blocks in vertical position on the footerblocks, wedge means securely holding the bottom wall blocks inhorizontal position on the footer blocks, short, vertically extendingbolt means securely holding vertically adjacent wall blocks in verticalposition, wedge means securely holding adjacent vertical wall blocks inhorizontal position, beam blocks, short, vertically extending bolt meanssecuring the beam blocks to the wall blocks, floor blocks, and short,vertically extending bolt means securing the floor blocks to the beamblocks.

2. In -a building construction the combination of a plurality of precastconcrete blocks of rectangular shape, each block having a plurality ofbores through the ver- 'cal height thereof with the bores being equallyspaced along the longitudinal centerline of the blocks, each "corecomprising a slightly tapered square recess on one end thereof, aslightly tapered square hole of less cross sectional area than therecess extending from the :recess toward the other end of the bore, asharply tapered conically shaped inwardly directly recess formed at theend of the square hole opposite the square recess, and a circular holeextending from the bottom of the conically shaped recess to the otherend of the bore to thereby complete the bore, said bores being arrangedalternately so that if one bore has the square recess upwardly the nextbore has the circular hole upwardly, each vertically adjacent blockhaving their bores arranged so that each square recess on the upwardside of the lower block is aligned with a square recess on the downwardside of the upper block, and correspondingly each circular hole on theupward side of the lower block is aligned with a circular hole on thedownward side of the upper block, plastic nut means wedged into theconically tapered recess and circular hole of each bore, relativelyshort plastic bolt means connecting the nut means in each verticallyadjacent and aligned pair of circular holes to hold the blocks invertical stability, and square block-shaped concrete wedge means wedgedinto each vertically adjacent and aligned pair of square recesses tohold the blocks in lateral stability.

3. In a building construction having the strength of monolithically castconcrete the combination of a plurality of precast concrete blocks ofrectangular shape, each block having a plurality of bores through thevertical height thereof 'with the bores being equally spaced along thelongitudinal centerline of the blocks, each bore having a recess on oneend and narrowing to a circular hole on the opposite end, said boresbeing arranged alternately so that if one bore has the recess upwardlythe next bore has the circular hole upwardly, each vertically adjacentblock having their bores arranged so that each recess on the upward sideof the lower block is aligned with a recess on the downward side of theupper block, and correspondingly each circular hole on the upward sideof the lower block is aligned with a circular hole on the downward sideof the upper block, nu-t means wedged into the circular hole of each'bore, bolt means connecting the nut means in each vertically adjacentand aligned pair of circular holes to hold the blocks in verticalstability, and concrete :block wedge means wedged into each verticallyadjacent and aligned pair of recesses to hold the blocks in lateralstability.

4. In a building construction the combination of a plurality ofpreformed concrete footer members, a plurality of rectangularly shapedpreformed concrete block members adapted to rest on the footer membersas a foundation, said block members forming walls when laid end to endin courses on top of each other, a plurality of pre-formed concreterigid beam members having reinforcement rods therein resting on the topof the walls to [form floor girders, a preformed concrete floor memberresting on top of the beams, nut and concrete block wedge meansremovably carried by each footer, block, beam and floor member,relatively short bolt means connecting the nut means in each verticallyadjacent pair of members to insure vertical stability, the bolt meansextending only a short distance into the adjacent pair of membersconnected, and the wedge means wedlging each vertically adjacent pair ofmembers to insure horizontal stability.

5. A concrete block building including footer blocks andwall blocks, allblocks having a length, width and height, equal to a multiple of amodule unit each block having a vertical bore centrally positioned ineach module length and width, means at one end of each bore adapted toreceive a nut, means at the other end of each bore adapted to receive akey, alternate bores being inverted so that one bore has its keyreceiving means upwardly and the next has its key receiving meansdownwardly, removable concrete keys in at least certain of the bores ofthe footer blocks received in the bores of the lower course of wallblocks, removable concrete keys positioned in the bores between adjacentcourses of the wall blocks, nuts carried in the bores of at leastcertain of the footer blocks, nuts carried in the opposed bores of thelower course of wall blocks, relatively short bolts joining the nuts ofthe footer blocks and the wall blocks, nuts in opposed bores of wall'blocks forming adjacent wall courses, and relatively short boltsjoining the nuts of the wall blocks storming adjacent courses.

6. A concrete block building having substantially the strength ofmonolithically cast concrete including wall blocks, all blocks having alength, Width and height, equal to a multiple of a module unit, eachblock having a vertical bore centrally positioned in each module lengthand width, means at one end of each bore adapted to receive a nut, meansat the other end of each bore adapted to jacent ends of opposed boreswhereby the bolts joining adjacent block courses can be relativelyshort.

8. In a building construction the combination of a plurality of precastconcrete blocks of rectangular shape, each block having a plurality ofbores through the vertical height thereof with the bores being equallyspaced along the longitudinal centerline of the blocks, each borecomprising a slightly tapered square hole on one end thereof, aconically shaped inwardly directed recess formed at the inner end of thesquare hole, and a circular hole extending from the other end of theconically shaped recess to the other end of the bore to thereby completethe bore, said bores being arranged alternately so that if one bore hasthe square hole upwardly, the next lbore has the circular =holeupwardly, each vertically adjacent block having their bores arranged sothat each square hole on the 'upward side of the lower block is alignedwith a square hole on the downward side of the upper block, andcorrespondimgly each circular hole on the upward side of the lower blockis aligned with a circular hole on the downward side of the upper block,nut means wedged into the conically tapered recess and circular hole ofeach bore, bolt means connecting the nut means in each verticallyadjacent and aligned pair of circular holes to hold the blocks invertical stability, and Wedge means wedged into each vertically adjacentand aligned pair of square holes to hold the blocks in lateral stabilty.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 279,836 6/1883483,105 9/1892 Fernelmont 52589 786,884 4/1905 Faulkner 52289 800,3859/1905 Miller 52 289 2,212,184 8/1940 Powell 52 293: 2,241,169 5/1941Yokes 52 228- 2,871,544 2/1959 Youtz 52 745 2,971,295 2/1961 Reynolds52228 FOREIGN PATENTS 647,249 7/1928 France.

585,287 2/1947 Great Britain.

588,175 5/1947 Great Britain.

50,909 1/1910 Sweden.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Examiner.

I. L. RIDGILL, Assistant Examiner.

Smithmeyer 52606 X

5. A CONCRETE BLOCK BUILDING INCLUDING FOOTER BLOCKS AND WALL BLOCKS,ALL BLOCKS HAVING A LENGTH, WIDTH AND HEIGHT, EQUAL TO A MULITPLE OF AMODULE UNIT EACH BLOCK HAVING A VERTICAL BORE CENTRALLY POSITIONED INEACH MODULE LENGTH AND WIDTH, MEANS AT ONE END OF EACH BORE ADAPTED TORECEIVE A NUT, MEANS AT THE OTHER END OF EACH BORE ADAPTED TO RECEIVE AKEY, ALTERNATIVE BORES BEING INVERTED SO THAT ONE BORE HAS ITS KEYRECEIVING MEANS UPWARDLY AND THE NEXT HAS ITS KEY RECEIVING MEANSDOWNWARDLY, RE MOVABLE CONCRETE KEYS IN AT LEAST CERTAIN OF THE BORES OFTHE FOOTER BLOCKS RECEIVED IN THE BORES OF THE LOWER COURSE OF WALLBLOCKS, REMOVABLE CONCRETE KEYS POSITIONED IN THE BORES BETWEEN ADJACENTCOURSES OF THE WALL BLOCKS, NUTS CARRIED IN THE BORES OF AT LEASTCERTAIN OF THE FOOTER BLOCKS, NUTS CARRIED IN THE OPPOSED BORES OF THELOWER COURSE OF WALL BLOCKS, RELATIVELY SHORT BOLTS JOINING THE NUTS OFTHE FOOTER BLOCKS AND WALL BLOCKS, NUTS IN OPPOSED BORES OF WALL BLOCKSFORMING ADJACENT WALL COURSES, AND RELATIVELY SHORT BOLTS JOINING THENUTS OF THE WALL BLOCKS FORMING ADJACENT COURSES.